2004 Will Be USA's Best Year Economically in Last 20 Years!

yahooooooo ^

[ConservativeMan55]

2004 Will Be the U.S.'S Best Year Economically in Last 20 Years, The Conference Board Reports in a Revised Forecast Thursday December 11, 11:01 am ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Revising its year-end economic forecast sharply upward, The Conference Board today projected that real GDP growth will hit 5.7% next year, making 2004 the best year economically in the last 20 years. The forecast, by Conference Board Chief Economist Gail Fosler, expects worker productivity, which set a 20-year record in the third quarter, to rise at a healthy 3.6% next year. That would follow a gain of 4.3% this year.

The economic forecast is prepared for more than 2,500 corporate members of The Conference Board's global business network, based in 66 nations.

KEY BAROMETERS FLASHING GROWTH

"Growing business spending and continued strength in consumer spending are generating growth throughout the U.S. economy," says Fosler. "This burgeoning strength is reflected in The Conference Board's widely-watched Leading Economic Indicators, the Consumer Confidence Index and the Help-Wanted Advertising Index. While the labor market, a critical factor in sustaining growth, is growing slowly, a pick-up in hiring may already have begun."

Real consumer spending, which continues to fuel growth, will increase at a 4.7% pace next year, up from about 3.2% this year. Another gain of 4.3% is projected for 2005.

While the U.S. economy is expected to generate more than one million new jobs next year, the unemployment rate will edge down only slightly, averaging 5.6% in 2004.

The Conference Board forecast notes that as the U.S. economy bounces back, so is Europe, although growth will be subdued compared to most other major parts of the world. "For all the concern about a weak dollar," says Fosler, "the dollar will be worth more than the euro by the end of the year."

Real capital spending, which will rise by only 2.7% this year, will climb 11.7% next year and another 8.6% in 2005. Pre-tax corporate operating profits will top $1 trillion next year, up from a projected $928 billion this year. Another trillion-dollar-plus gain in profits is expected in 2005.

The continued recovery in business profits, which was a key ingredient in funding new investment (crucial in making 2004 a strong growth year), depends on price relief. Business profits will benefit from both improved volume and recovering profit margins in 2004, as inflation creeps back toward 3% by the end of the year.

Source: Revised Conference Board Economic Forecast December 2003

[RaginRak]

"Everybody knows Bush F'd up the F'n economy!"

....."but when I was serving in Vietnam"

[ErnBatavia]

"Everybody knows Bush F'd up the F'n economy!"

My new nickname for Frenchy: "Andrew Dice Heinz"

[AmericanInTokyo]

[AmericanInTokyo]

All we need now is to have the map 'morph' before our very eyes, from mixed into all red.

[Grampa Dave]

[FairOpinion]

This cartoon is just soo perfect!

I bet Hillary is sobbing!

[marshmallow]

Not trying to be a wet blanket here, but all it will take to turn this prediction on its head is some form of terrorist attack.

After 9/11, all the high fiving going on here is really "irrational exuberance", to coin a now infamous phrase.

[Blood of Tyrants]

He will win the District of Columbia even if he proclaims himself to be Satan himself.

[Richard Kimball]

Best economy in 20 years? Let's see, who was President then?

[No Blue States]

Maybe i should have called myself No Blue Counties. HEHEH.

The economy improving even hit home today, We got a raise here at work! BWAHAHAHAHA!

[thackney]

It is going to be a tough year for those doom-n-gloom dems.

[Flux Capacitor]

I never bought that "Bush = Evil Red, Gore = True Blue" color scheme the media has insisted on since 2000. My version of the map shows a sea of Republican blue, the way the colors always were before the switcheroo.

-Dan

[Denver Ditdat]

Now, in what numerical system is under one percent huge?

Context.<p. If one percent of Monaco's population decided to move to China no one would notice. Reverse the two nations and direction of travel and it becomes a bit more significant.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[craig_eddy]

So much for "miserable failure", eh Dickie G...

[kevkrom]

Hey, whoa there, fellas! I know I'm buying a ton of DVDs but really, not that many....

I think my wife bought the rest of them.

[kevkrom]

He'll win his own. Vermont's beyond help even without a hometown boy on the ballot.

I don't remeber the link, but people in his homestate are something like 50-35 against voting for him for President.

[Lando Lincoln]

Seems like I only have time for an occasional ping these days. Anyway....I hope everyone is well. CM55 - great post - but you took soemone's fun away by your post #3. Don't you know that there is an honor to being the first one to quote Tommy Daschle as being "deeply saddened"!? ;-)

Lando

[ConservativeMan55]

I know there's an honor. And I'm basking in it!

Now there's also an additional honor to post those same Kerry F'n captions as well.

[buffyt]

Awe, YOU beat me! Poor little ole Tommy!